Certain Judgment

©Thomas Dolhanty

Overview:

• When the Psalmist Asaph considered how the godless seem to prosper while the upright suffer many trials (Psalm 73) he became very discouraged. He wondered what was the benefit of obeying God's law. However, when God gave him true wisdom, this man understood that God's justice is perfect, and that the ungodly are actually marching blindly and foolishly to a certain doom, while God's children will always know His love and His favour.
• The picture of books being opened before the judgment seat of God occurs in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. The clear message is that judgment is certain, that nothing will be hidden - no word, no deed, no desire - and none will escape the wrath of God unless his or her name is found in another book - "the lamb's book of life".
• The most obvious and in many ways the most terrible mark of God's judgment on the ungodly is that in this present life they are blind and stupid. They treasure what has no value, they pursue what cannot satisfy, and they are utterly blind and deaf to their imminent destruction. The Word of God which delivers the elect to safety, serves only to harden the ungodly in their stubborn march toward final rejection by God.
• Any who doubt the terror of God's judgment, any who think that God will not inflict eternal punishment on the godless, need to look at the judgment which God poured out on His own holy Son because of the sins of His people. Jesus cried out for mercy but mercy was denied. Jesus drank the cup of judgment to the very last dregs. All others, will not even begin to drain that terrible cup though they must drink from it forever.
• God is just in forgiving the sins of His elect - those whom He has chosen before the foundation of the world - precisely because justice was fully satisfied in the death of Jesus Christ. Every sin shall be accounted for and punished - either by Christ for His people, or by the reprobate for himself or herself.
• Once again, those who see the Lord Jesus Christ only as gentle and kind, and who refuse to see Him as Scripture portrays Him, need to read the Word of God afresh. Jesus Christ is not only the gentle and patient Saviour, He is also the One with eyes of fire and with a sword coming from His mouth, who will judge every man and woman who ever lived. In the Revelation men beg to have a mountain fall upon them rather than face the "wrath of the lamb".
• Scripture gives us many examples of the judgments of God in space and time, and all of us know of God's judgments in our own world. Often both the righteous and the ungodly suffer in God's judgments in the present age, but between these two groups the suffering is very different, God's purpose is very different, and the outcomes are utterly different. What purifies the saint and draws him closer to God condemns the ungodly and drives him towards hell.
• THERE IS MERCY. NOW IS THE "DAY OF GOD'S FAVOUR". NOW IS THE TIME OF MERCY. LET "ANYONE WHO HAS EARS TO HEAR" TURN TO GOD AND EMBRACE HIS DELIVERANCE IN CHRIST JESUS. When this life is over - when the court sits - then there will be justice, and perfect justice, and only justice.

The wicked prosper. The upright are oppressed. Who cares?

A psalm of Asaph. Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. Psalms 73:1-5 NIV

They say, "How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge?" This is what the wicked are like— always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. Psalms 73:11-14 NIV

When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! Psalms 73:16-19 NIV

When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you. Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. Psalms 73:21-28 NIV

When Asaph penned the words of Psalm 73, he addressed a deep anxiety that is known to untold multitudes of God's people. Why is it that the wicked prosper? If God is ruling the universe in justice and in holiness and in kindness, why do the small and the oppressed and the disenfranchised suffer so much while the ungodly seem to have everything their way? Why is it that men and women who care not one whit about God or the Word of God seem to have great success while so many of the Lord's disciples are poor and despised and weak? How come when we look around us we cannot help but agree with James Russell Lowell's observation:

"Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne" James Russell Lowell

Asaph was a man of God, but when he tried to work this out in his mind he became very depressed. He tells us, in fact, that "my foot almost slipped" and that "I was a brute beast before you". How many of God's people have been likewise depressed down through the ages when they see the godless prosper while the upright suffer? Have we not all had to struggle with this? How many, in fact, have turned away from the faith because it seems to them that their commitment to Christ has added only a burden and a reproach, and they are better off with the non-believer who is "always carefree"? I Thank God that He has inspired Asaph, the great Psalmist, to address this matter honestly and give us the words which help us to confess our own true feelings, and to see past the surface to the real state of the ungodly and the true situation of God's holy saints.

The more Asaph considered this, it seemed, the more oppressed he became - until he "entered the sanctuary of God". So what was it in God's sanctuary that brought this man to confession and to repentance for having the heart of a "brute beast"? What did this man see in the house of God which filled him with new life and new hope and caused him to rejoice in the Lord? No matter how hard Asaph looked at this through the eyes of human reason, it just became more "wearisome" to him. It filled him with oppression and resentment and anger. He was in danger of losing his way altogether. He tried to work it out like Job and his friends tried to work out the dealings of God. Asaph tried to discover some way to justify this scene, but whenever he went to work on the problem, he ended up more discouraged. What did he see in the house of God that swept away this oppression "as a dream when one awakes"?

Asaph had made the mistake of considering only the conditions of this brief life and of weighing only the temporal blessings of a passing world and the treasures which "moth and rust destroy" (Matthew 6:19-20). Hundreds of years later, the Apostle stated the matter in the reverse:

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. 1 Corinthians 15:19

When Asaph "went into the sanctuary of God" he understood that he had been looking for perfect justice in the present order only. He had considered temporal blessings only. He had allowed the inequities and the imbalances of the present life to cloud his whole view of truth and obscure his vision of true justice and true blessing. Asaph rejoiced greatly when God reminded him that true riches are not the poor pitiful trappings of this passing life. True riches are found in relationship with the living God - not only in the next life but here and now ("earth has nothing I desire besides you"). Only those who have tasted the joy and the wonder of a true relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ can really understand this. All else pales to insignificance. Everything of earth, including life itself, grows dim and unattractive compared to "the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:8 KJV). The last six verses of the Psalm practically sparkle with sheer joy as Asaph considers the true riches that are his in God:

Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. Psalms 73:23-28 NIV

But what about the ungodly? What about the non-believer who scoffs at the very idea of God? What about the false Christian who professes Christ while he lives exactly like the world and seeks exactly what the world seeks - and is rewarded with all the rewards of the world? What about the one who professes Christ in the modern Church - in fact whole denominations - and yet approve the very perversions of this adulterous generation? In the sanctuary of God Asaph has finally understood the true position of these ones:

Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! Psalms 73:16-19 NIV

How has God done this? What is it in the sanctuary that completely altered Asaph's understanding? What set him free from his 'beastly' attitude and filled his heart again with the "joy of his salvation"? Asaph gives us the answer in verse 20:

Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies. Psalms 73:18-20

The righteous have been awakened to understand what true wealth is, and to understand that this life is but a "dream" or a "fantasy". The disciple of Jesus Christ is taught by the Spirit of God that this present order - this life in the flesh on earth - is corrupt and marred and bound for death. The whole of the present order of life - whether human life or the very existence of the present order of creation - is passing away like a dream or a shadow. It is doomed. The ungodly, the non-believer, the false Christian - these ones have set their entire hope and focus on this doomed world. They have given themselves to gain what they can from this life. They seek to save their lives and to increase their wealth and increase their reputation and to revel in the passing pleasures of sin. God has hidden from these ones the truth about life, and true riches and eternal life and the awesome wonder of the "glorious Gospel of the blessed God" (1 Timothy 1:11). Thus, by the Spirit of God Asaph understood that he was 'full of riches'. Whether on earth or on heaven, whether in time or eternity, God was his treasure and would always be with him. The ungodly, on the other hand, with their foolish preoccupations in this life are "suddenly destroyed" and "completely swept away by terrors". In this life they are blind fools and in the life to come they are ruined. The Lord Christ stated it this way:

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? Matthew 16:25-26

Justice will prevail. God will not be mocked. The disciples of Jesus Christ will prosper in true riches both now and forever. Those who scorn God now are racing to an eternal doom. Furthermore, they have given themselves in this life to 'riches' which are not riches at all. They have embraced an existence which is empty now and which will lead to eternal condemnation in the next life. They "spend their money for that which is not bread" and they "spend their labour for that which does not satisfy" (Isaiah 55:2). They race to their own destruction, and God "holds them in derision" (Psalm 2:4), while the true disciple travels the "path of the just [which] is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. (Proverbs 4:18 KJV).

Some, no doubt will take great offence at the justice of God in all of this, because they have invented a kind of divine Santa Claus as their God and they will not receive the truth about the God of Scripture. Moreover, we have the commandment from the Lord to do good to all men and to love our enemies and to preach the Gospel to all who will hear it. There can be no cold and heartless attitude on the part of the true disciple towards the lost. However, it is most important for all God's people to understand the revelation of God to Asaph and to realize that God will be glorified in the end, and that justice will be perfectly served in the end. Those who have embraced the Gospel have true riches, not only in eternity but also in the present life. They are filled with good things. For those who have rejected God, and for the hypocrites who profess to love God while really loving their life in this world - a day will come when they are awakened from their dream to find that they have lost the only treasure that really matters.

"Books were opened" (Revelation 20:12). The judgment of God is certain, and it will be a perfect justice. Nothing will be hidden. Deception will not be possible. Nothing will be forgotten. Those who have loved God will be loved by Him forever and will be filled with all the riches of the ages. Those who loved this world and sought to save their lives will awake as from a dream to find that the things they gave themselves to are a curse to them forever and ever.

"Books were opened"

"As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened." Daniel 7:9-10

"... But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book." Daniel 12:1b

"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:11-15

The prophet Daniel, who lived as an exile during the Babylonian captivity of Israel (605 - 538 BC) wrote one of the most profound and far-reaching prophecies in all of Scripture concerning end time events and the scene of the final judgment. About 700 years later another exile, the Apostle John, encountered the resurrected and glorified Christ while he was exiled on the Isle of Patmos for his faith. John was taken up into heaven where he also witnessed vivid images of end time events, of the wrath of God poured out on His enemies, and of the final judgment. The two prophetic works have much in common, and it is clear that John alludes to Daniel often, and that much in John's vision is in fact the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy, while other parts of the Revelation serve to explain and expound the visions of Daniel. In the passages quoted above both the Prophet and the Apostle speak of multiple "Books" and of a single "Book". The scene is the final judgment and the Lord - Daniel's "Ancient of Days" - sits to judge all men. From these and other Biblical passages we know that the "Books" (plural) contain a record of every act, every word, and every 'imagination' of each person who ever lived. We also know that the "Book" (singular), which is also called the "Book of Life" (Psalm 69:28; Philippians 4:3; Revelation 17:8, 20:12) and the "lamb's book of life" (Revelation 13:8, 21:27) contains the names of those whom God has chosen to receive mercy through Christ Jesus. These one - the elect of God whose names were recorded in the "lamb's book of life" before the foundation of the world - have forgiveness for all their sins which are recorded in the "Books". They alone will be delivered on the "great and terrible day" of judgment.

When we read in both Daniel and John, then, that "books were opened" we are reading of the time when God gathers before His judgment seat all human beings - "the dead and the living" (1Peter 4:4)). Each must give an account of his or her life. Did you love God with your whole heart and soul and mind and strength all the days of your life? Did you love your fellow man as you love yourself? Here, though, there is no room for deceit. Here there is no possibility to lie, or to offer lame excuses, or to blame others, or to obfuscate the matter with deceptive language - or to hide. Here it is no longer possible to "suppress the truth in unrighteousness". Why? Because "books were opened". The entire account of my life will be there for all to see. This is the basis for judgment, and it is a judgment that involves all - believer and non-believer, great and small. Moreover, I need only to read the third chapter of the Letter to the Romans to know that I will be found guilty of heinous crimes. My only hope is that my name should be found in the one "Book" - "the lamb's book of life" (Revelation 20:15). That "Book" records the names of God's elect. These are the ones who, during their time on earth, have put their trust in Christ and in His sacrifice to deliver them from judgment. Surely we are given this picture of "Books" to establish the certainty of a final judgment where all the acts of a man are remembered and also the certainty of condemnation for all who have not been delivered by faith in Jesus Christ - whose "name was not found written in the lamb's book of life" (Revelation 20:15).

Every man and every woman who ever lived will appear before the judgement seat of Christ, and each will be judged according to the deeds done while in the body. This is one of the clearest teachings in all of the Bible. It is a teaching that begins with the beginning of Scripture; it is teaching which is a key theme throughout the entire body of Scripture; and it is a teaching which is the controlling theme of the last book of Scripture - the Revelation of the Apostle John. Every act, every word, every thought, every desire of the heart shall be laid open before all and the judge of all the earth shall reward each individual according to what he or she has done, and said, and thought during his or her time on earth. The standard will be the great commandment - 'love God with your whole being, and love your neighbour as yourself.' No good deed shall go unrewarded. No wrong deed shall go unpunished. The righteousness and the holiness and the faithfulness of God shall prevail in the end, and He shall be glorified when He shall "rise up to judge the earth" (Psalm 94:2). Anyone who doubts that Scripture teaches this, does not know Scripture at all. It is just that simple. Anyone who professes to be a Christian but does not believe Scripture on this topic, has added to all his other sins that he has called God a liar.

The false Church teaches something very different from this and there are many different types of professors in that Church. There are the 'nice Christians' who are deeply offended at the very thought that 'nice' Jesus could judge and condemn men and women. There are the self-righteous believers who feel that they are above judgment - that they will be found righteous because of their religious acts. There are the 'foolish virgins' who think that the 'sinners prayer' or some similar profession or some fulfillment of religious duty will save them, even though their real love is for themselves and their life in this world. There are the zealous Christians who prophesy or pray or fast or cast out demons or do miracles - but who have not denied their own lives to obey and honour God from a heart of love. There are, in fact, a myriad of false doctrines and false Churches and false believers who have dreamed up every deceit imaginable to deny the reality that "books were opened".

The non-believer, on the other hand, works to convince himself that there is no such thing as God and therefore there is no such thing as judgment. He clings to the irrational belief system of this world which, as we have shown, strives relentlessly to deny the very name of God. For this non-believer there is, in fact, no essential moral imperative in creation at all - in fact there is really no purpose in creation. There is simply a great unexplainable machine which appeared from who-knows-where and which is driven along by random chance. How such a system could ever produce order and predictability and moral creatures is never explained. In fact, the non-believer must steal his arguments from the order and the predictability of God's creation to prove there is no God! The whole hoax is utterly irrational, and the reason it is irrational is that it has been concocted by fools - "the fool has said in his heart 'there is no God'" (Psalm 14:1). In fact, God has blinded these men; He has destroyed whatever wisdom they had - - "... it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.'" 1 Corinthians 1:19. The non-believer builds his wall of unbelief higher and higher, and yet there is this voice within which he cannot quite destroy and which keeps warning him that he is accountable and that he must stand before the judge of heaven and earth someday. Final judgment is as certain as life itself.

As for the witness of Scripture, there is nothing more certain in all the Bible than the truth that "books were opened" and that all of mankind will be judged, and that each individual will be judged for every word, thought and act, and that the standard of judgment will be the the law of God - the great commandment. Every man born of woman knows this truth intuitively. Scripture declares it from the very first to the very last. In fact the judgment of all flesh and deliverance from judgment through the mercy of God in Christ Jesus is the major theme of Scripture. Judgment is certain. What is more, condemnation of all flesh is certain. Finally, the casting into hell of the condemned is also certain. The one question which remains to be settled for each individual is just this, 'Was my punishment borne by Jesus Christ, or must I bear it myself?' 'Have I heard the call of God and responded in spirit and in truth?' 'Am I a true believer who bears the fruit of a true disciple of Christ?' 'IS MY NAME FOUND IN THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE?' In a rational world, every human being would give up all else including life itself in order to settle this question.

"Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive."

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Isaiah 6:8-10

When Asaph went into the sanctuary of God He understood that those who refuse to recognize and honour God are really marching blindly down a path of certain judgment. When he considered only the things of this life, Asaph thought that these ones prospered even though they despised the law of God. They seemed to mock God without consequence. In the sanctuary though, the Psalmist finally understood that in their blindness and folly the ungodly have mistaken the passing things of this life as true wealth. Moreover, they have imagined that God is either unaware of their wickedness or else that He tolerates it. Thus, God gave the man of God eyes to see the true situation of the ungodly who are just a heartbeat away from utter ruin and eternal punishment, and who even in this life are pitifully foolish as they value that which has no lasting value at all. They give themselves to pleasures which bring no true joy at all. They are, in fact under judgment in this life even as they stumble blindly towards final and eternal judgment.

The prophet Isaiah also was given a vision of judgment when he 'went into the sanctuary of God' (Isaiah 6:1-13). This time, however, the judgment was a judgment on those who professed to belong to God and who imagined that they were doing the things that God requires. For this reason the judgment of Isaiah is a much more tragic judgment. It is one thing that those who deny God altogether and who scoff at the very idea of God and who trample underfoot the law of God should be struck with blindness and given over to folly. It is quite another matter when judgment is declared upon those who are called by God's name and who profess to be the people of God and who imagine that they have satisfied all the requirements of God. What could be more tragic than this?

The people of Israel had imagined that their identity as the "people of God", their profession of faith in the one true God, and their observance of religious practices prescribed by God made them acceptable to God. They imagined that they enjoyed God's favour, that they were under the protection of God and that their identity as the people of Israel was enough. God had sent his prophets time and again to warn the people that God is no respecter of persons, and that the true people of God are those who obey God from the heart - not those who trust in external religious observances. The people of God are those whose whole life is motivated by love for God, not love for self and love for this world. The Israel of Isaiah was about to undergo the most horrendous ruin and destruction at the hands of surrounding nations because they really were not the people of God at all but rather hypocrites who honoured God with their lips while in their hearts they were just like the people of the world.

The judgment that God decreed for these hypocrites was exactly the same as the judgment which Asaph saw in the sanctuary. A people who refused to hear were struck with deafness. A people who refused to see were struck with blindness. Like Pharaoh of old, the people of Israel were made more deaf and blind and foolish by the very Word of God which brings light and understanding to true believers. The people mocked the Word of God and persecuted and murdered the prophets just as they mocked the Words of the Lord Jesus Christ and crucified Him. In their blind rage they judged themselves and ensured that they would be rejected by God both in this life and in the next life.

Here is a great tragedy, and here is the tragedy of the modern Christian Church. It is not enough to profess faith in Jesus Christ and to fulfill a few religious obligations while loving one's own life and seeking the same things the people of the world seek. Abstaining from alcohol and drugs, attending Church, paying one's tithes, and serving on Church committees is not proof that one belongs to God. Saying the 'sinner's prayer' has on meaning at all by itself and to trust in such religious formulae is just to repeat the tragic mistake of ancient Israel. Sadly - tragically - the Word of God serves only to harden and blind and deafen those who are committed to such a path. They believe that they KNOW what the Bible says, and they reject the true voice of the Spirit as religious fanaticism.

The New Testament spells out ever so clearly what the true disciple will look like. He will be one who loves the Lord with his whole being and he will love his neighbour - and especially those of the household of faith. This love for God will mean that the disciple has denied himself and placed the interests of Jesus Christ above his own interests. It means that he "seeks first the kingdom of God" rather than seeking the things of this life. It means that his focus is on the eternal kingdom and his priority is God's will and therefore he is "crucified to the world, and the world to him." Here are just a few of the passages where the Lord Christ described true discipleship:

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26-27

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:23-26

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:31-33

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." Matthew 7:21-27

This is not the picture of the modern North American Christian. That person has been taught that he or she may seek after all the same things that the world seeks after, and may have the same kind of focus that the world has as long as he or she fulfills a few religious obligations and maintains some basic ethical standards. This is blindness. This is nothing but a refusal to consider seriously the Word of God which describes a very different kind of life for the true disciple. And so modern Christian enter further and further into the folly of the world. Large parts of the so-called Church have abandoned the Word of God altogether. Others have read their own meaning into the Bible and all are buoyed up by their fellow church-goers. The one who dares to call the Church back to the truth and to preach the ancient Gospel is more and more seen as a religious fanatic and treated with contempt.

This is judgment! It is a tragic repeat of the judgment of ancient Israel. The very house which bears the name of Jesus Christ has fallen into the deafness and blindness and hardness of heart of the lost, and their guilt is all the greater because of the light which they have rejected. God is no respecter of persons. Judgment is certain for all who are not disciples of Christ and judgment is now evident everywhere in the deafness and blindness of the professing Church. The hypocrite will receive a harsher judgment than others because he has been particularly malevolent in corrupting the truth. This was always the case in the record of Scriptures and it will be no different today. To be given over to blindness and folly is just to come under the judgment of God. It is the very thing that Jesus warned his followers about over and over again. It is a tragedy of cosmic proportions.

The judgment of Jesus Christ for the sins of His people

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

As many were astonished at you-- his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind-- Isaiah 52:14

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned--every one--to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:4-6

From the earliest of times mankind has been taught the principle of a substitute sacrifice to atone for sin. Pagan peoples from almost every background display in their cultures the idea that one can appease the gods by offering a living sacrifice. Many times the sacrifice is an animal, sometimes food or other substances considered to have value. Occasionally the sacrifice has been that of a human being - a child or another member of the community. Offering a substitutionary sacrifice is a most persistent theme throughout human history.

What is more important, God has taught His people from the earliest of days, that they should look for a sacrifice to atone for their guilt and their sin. The beginning of this teaching was the slaying of an animal to provide a cover for Adam and Eve after their fall. The teaching becomes more focused with Cain and Abel who had clearly been taught by their parents and/or by the Lord directly that they were to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Moreover, the Lord taught these first brothers that to be acceptable the sacrifice must be according to God's requirements and not according to the ideas of man (Gen 4:3-4). After the flood we witness Noah being taught by the Lord to offer a particular substitutionary sacrifice. The animals offered must be "clean" animals. As members the small company of living beings which survived the flood through the provision of God these animals were very precious. Thus Noah and his descendants are taught that the sacrifice must be one prescribed by God ("clean animals") and are of the highest value. Many times God's people were severely disciplined for trying to pass off sacrifices which fell short of these requirements, just as modern believers often try to 'placate God' with the leftover crumbs of their lives while they save the "fat portion" for themselves.

Finally, when God delivered the nation of Israel from slavery in Egypt, he revealed to them very specific requirements about the type of substitutionary sacrifice which must be offered, the purpose for the offering, and the manner in which the offering was to be made. The offering must be the prescribed animal which must be "without blemish" and which was to be offered only by the Aaronic priesthood and only in the manner and the time laid down by God's revelation. Thus the concept of atonement through substitutionary sacrifice of a specific "unblemished" or perfect animal offered as an atonement for the sins of the people became an essential part of the religious life of the Jewish people. Their whole national life, in fact, was centred on the concept of atonement and substitutionary sacrifice and - most important - the precise detail of this religion was prescribed by Scripture and must be observed exactly as laid down. The reason for this detail is that the Old Testament sacrifice was but a shadow of the true sacrifice, and it must adhere in all detail to "the heavenly pattern".

The entire history of Israel was designed to teach its people - and eventually the world - about the nature of salvation. In the Exodus, the "unblemished" lamb was to be slain in the manner prescribed and its blood was to be placed over the doorway of the chosen people in Israel to protect them from the wrath of the avenging angel of death. Moses instructed the people as follows:

For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, 'What do you mean by this service?' you shall say, 'It is the sacrifice of the LORD's Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.'" And the people bowed their heads and worshiped. Exodus 12:23-27

After the exodus, the unblemished lamb was to be slain and its blood sprinkled on the altar and on the people to atone for their sins. The blood of animals, of course, could do nothing by way of atonement for the sins of human beings. The nation was being taught about the "lamb of God" - the Messiah - whose blood would be shed for them. As we have said, the entire history of Israel can be understood as a preparation for the appearance and work of God's Messiah. The New Testament Letter to the Hebrews helps us to put this all together and to see what God has done and why He has done it in providing symbols and types to teach the people about the salvation that He would provide.

Before the foundation of the world, the Son of God agreed to suffer the punishment that was due to His people. He consented to be sent by the Father as the "lamb without blemish" and to receive in Himself the full punishment that was owing to His people because of their sinful nature and because of their sinful acts. Thus He is called the "Christ, our Passover lamb" (1Corinthians 5:7). What must be understood about this lamb and His punishment is that once He committed Himself to bear the punishment of His people, He was required to fully satisfy the justice of God. He was required to drink the cup of God's wrath to the very last dregs. There could be no mercy and no abatement of the punishment. God's wrath against sin is fierce and devastating, and the punishment for the sinner is more terrible than we can imagine. This is what the Messiah agreed to bear for the sins of His people.

Whoever wishes to understand the wrath of God against sin must look at the punishment of Jesus Christ. If anyone doubts that God's wrath is terrible they should study what God did to his holy Son when He "became sin" on behalf of His people. God has given us many different warnings and many different pictures of the wrath which will be poured out on those who persist in rebellion, but none is more clear or convincing or more observable than the slaying of the lamb of God. All who are not redeemed by the blood of that lamb will be forced to drink that same cup of wrath for their own sins. Here are a few passages of Scripture which describe this cup:

For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs. Psalms 75:8

The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath. Revelation 16:19

Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them." Jeremiah 25:15-16

Thus says the Lord GOD: "You shall drink your sister's cup that is deep and large; you shall be laughed at and held in derision, for it contains much; you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow. A cup of horror and desolation, the cup of your sister Samaria; you shall drink it and drain it out, and gnaw its shards, and tear your breasts; for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 23:32-34

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. Revelation 14:9-10

The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face. Psalms 11:5-7

This is a cup which is the "wine of the fury of [God's] wrath". It is a cup which causes the drinker to be "crazed" and to be filled with "drunkenness and sorrow". It is "A cup of horror and desolation" which causes its drinker to "be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb". It is a cup, we are told in Scripture, which is full of the "hatred" and the "anger" and even the "derision" of the Lord God Almighty. It is a cup which, in fact, only One could ever drink to the dregs. All others who are handed this cup will sip from it for the rest of eternity. They will never be able to exhaust its horrors. This is the clear teaching of the Word of God. If any man should challenge it, then his argument is with God and with the Word of God.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Son of man. The Lord Christ is the holy and perfect child of the Almighty who always did the things that please His Father and who was full of the Holy Spirit and power. He is the beloved of God and He is the one who rules over all life so that men and angels and demons and even nature itself must obey His command. This same Jesus Christ, when he beheld the cup of God's wrath for the sins of His people cried out in anguish and He earnestly implored His Father that the cup should be removed from Him. Even though He came for this very purpose and even though He would not prefer His own will above His Father's, Jesus was almost overcome by the terror and the horror of God's wrath when He beheld it. This is the picture of God's final punishment on the wicked.

There was no mercy for the Lord Jesus Christ when He sought deliverance from this horror. Justice would not be satisfied until He drained the cup of wrath to the very last dregs. Many who do not understand, think that the wrath of God is seen in the beating and the mocking and the cruel painful death of Jesus Christ. Terrible as this was, this does not even begin to describe the cup of God's wrath. It was not because He was physically beaten beyond recognition that Jesus cried out, but because He knew what it would mean to be separated from God. For all eternity His Father had smiled on Him and rejoiced in Him, but now He knew what it was for His Father to turn away from Him. It was this that caused Him to cry out in great anguish of spirit, "... 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' which means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" Mark 15:34. Glory to the lamb of God! His people are smitten with love for Him, and they worship Him "in spirit and in truth".

For the one who is depraved and who is a slave of lust and greed and self worship, the cup of God's wrath is a horror unimaginable. The Lord Jesus Christ warned men that they should gouge out their eye or cut of their foot or their hand rather than face that horror. The pictures we have of hell in Scripture are of "fire and brimstone", of unquenchable thirst, of utter darkness, or unending misery, and of unimaginable torment. There are those who love to mock the Biblical pictures of hell. More than a few of these profess to be followers of Christ. But Scripture does not deceive. God does not lie. We do not have language or capacity to grasp the terror of God's wrath, but woe to him who scorns the warnings that Scripture provides. Woe to him who scorns the mercy of God in Christ Jesus.

To be cut off from God is to be removed from all light. It is to be separated from all that is good and holy and right and kind and selfless and noble. Away from God, lust will burn the lustful continuously without relief. Greed will torment the covetousness, even with the knowledge that the only treasure that means anything is lost forever. Hatred will be the rule. Love will be unheard of. The body will suffer but will not come to the end of suffering. Death - annihilation - would be a friend, but death itself has been destroyed. There will be no light, but darkness will be so oppressive that one there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth" - and a kind of oppression which is too horrible to imagine. These are not images concocted to influence men to 'be good'. These are solemn warning which come from Scripture itself.

"He who has an ear, let him hear."

"... so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus"

The way of salvation through Christ Jesus is expounded in the essay "the Gospel" below. However, there is one part of the Gospel which we must touch on briefly here because of the appalling confusion in the modern Church concerning justice and the way of salvation. God is not a respecter of persons (Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Galatians 2:6; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25). The requirement of justice are not different for different persons. Furthermore there are not many ways of salvation but only one:

"Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead--by this name this man stands here before you in good health. "He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:8-12

Men can only be saved by faith in the Messiah of God. It was the promise of this Messiah that the Old Testament saints trusted in, and it is the reality of the crucified and risen Messiah that New Testaments saints trust in. Only those who are disciples of this Messiah - this "lamb" - will be found in the "lamb's book of life". All others will encounter the "wrath of the lamb" (Revelation 6:16). The point we wish to make here is that in all of this, God deals exactly the same with every man and woman. God is no respecter of persons, but He is completely just and He judges all by the same measure. Faith does not save anyone, nor does any religious observation nor does any profession such as 'the sinner's prayer' nor any status except for perfect holiness. Every sin of man against God will be judged and will receive the full penalty named in the law of God. Incompetent and false teachers have caused much confusion in the Church on this matter.

How then can anyone be saved? The elect of God are saved because - and only because - the Lord Christ bore the full penalty of their sins. This infinitely holy and infinitely precious Son of God and Son of Man underwent the full and terrible judgment of God and paid the price for every one of the sins that the elect have committed. He drank from the cup of God's wrath to the very last dregs. He sought mercy, but mercy was denied HIm (Matthew 26:39). In obedience to His Father and in love for the elect of God He would not remove Himself from the place of punishment when His Father refused to spare Him. Jesus Christ received justice without mercy, and bore the whole wrath of God for the sins of His people. Thus, justice has been satisfied for all who trust in HIm. They, and they alone, will escape because another stood in their place. How do I know if I am among this group? It is simple - I will have the confession of faith in Christ AND I will live the life of a disciple of Christ AND I will bear the fruit of one who has denied his own life to follow Christ.

No one should ever imagine that God has different standards of justice for different people or different eras of mankind or different belief systems. There is one standard. Every offence will be punished. In the case of the elect, every offence was punished in Christ - He bore the awful fury of God's wrath on their behalf. The elect of God are not forgiven because God swept away their sins. They are forgiven because Jesus Christ - the 'lamb without blemish' - drank the terrible cup of God's wrath on their behalf. They are declared to be righteous because Jesus Christ was declared to be sin on their behalf (2Corinthians 5:21), and justice was fully satisfied in His punishment (Romans 4:25). Thus, for all who are saved through faith in Christ, God is 'just when he justifies them'. All others must pay the full penalty of justice for their own sins just as Jesus Christ paid the full penalty for His people. This was true of primitive man, it was true of the nation of Israel, it was true for pagan nations and it is true for modern man.

Jesus Christ as Judge

As we have said, there are many who refuse to see Jesus Christ as Judge and who refuse to receive the testimony of Scripture concerning the "wrath of the lamb" (Revelation 6:16). Nevertheless, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who will sit in judgment over all creation. It is before the Judgment Seat of Christ that I must appear and it is there that every person who ever lived must appear. Furthermore, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who will go forth as a terrible warrior to execute the wrath of God on His enemies. Following are a few of the many passages in Scripture which establish these truths:

"'But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.' I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 'You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'" Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!" Psalms 2:6-12

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Isaiah 11:1-4

The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. "I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. John 5:22-30

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." Acts 17:30-31

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 2 Corinthians 5:10

This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering-- since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10

and they *said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" Revelation 6:16-17

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, "Come, assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great." And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. Revelation 19:11-21

It is true that Jesus Christ is gentle, and that He is merciful and compassionate and that He cares for the small and the downtrodden and the disenfranchised. It is true that Jesus Christ is moved by compassion for mankind and that He desires that "no one should perish but that all should repent". WHAT IS NOT TRUE IS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS DEFINED BY THESE ATTRIBUTES ALONE. The terrible mistake that men make, as we have said earlier, is to emphasize one part of God's character at the expense of another part - or to pit one attribute of God against another or to divide the persons of the Trinity. Jesus Christ is gentle and loving and He is also just and very jealous for the honour and glory of God. Jesus Christ cares for the weak and the despised and the lowly, and He also will go forth to exact the most terrible vengeance on ALL of God's enemies. And that includes all who have refused to honour God by believing in His only Son, and all who falsely profess love for God and for the kingdom of God while they really love their own lives and the things of this world.

One needs only to read the passages quoted above to see the clear teaching of Scripture that Jesus Christ is not only the One who will sit in judgment on all of creation, but He is also the One who will execute the vengeance of God on all whose names are not found in the book of life. In the passage from the nineteenth chapter of the Revelation, we see a fierce warrior whose robe is splattered with the blood of His enemies. There are also a number of Scriptural pictures of Jesus as the terrible judge of heaven with eyes of fire and a sword coming from His mouth (Isaiah 1:20, 49:2; Daniel ; Revelation 1:16, 2:16, 19:15, 19:21). This is a picture of divine judgment and it is also a picture of the execution of that judgment. Jesus IS merciful and He is willing to forgive and to heal and restore. What all must realize is that God has given the whole earth a season of mercy and of forgiveness that has lasted now for 2,000 years. God has extended His hand of mercy in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Woe to that man or that woman who spurns the mercy of God and who imagines that God will fail to execute justice in the end. Woe to that man or woman who has shown contempt for the kindness and patience and mercy of God. Woe to that man or that woman who has professed love for God while really loving themselves and their lives in this world.

The judgments of God in space and time

By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. Hebrews 11:7

And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. And he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the valley, and he looked and, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace. So it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the valley, God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when he overthrew the cities in which Lot had lived. Genesis 19:27-29

Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. Psalms 73:18

And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Isaiah 6:9-10

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4

There are many like Asaph (Psalm 73), both believers and non-believers who, are convinced that in the present age at least the ungodly 'get away with murder'. Most believers agree that there will be justice in the end, but many have difficulty seeing the justice in the present age. They point to evil men like Hitler and ask 'Where is there any justice in such a life?' Just as Asaph did not understand until he "went into the sanctuary of God", however, it is necessary for the believer to look beyond the natural order to see and understand the justice of God. The judgments of God in the present age can be seen on two levels.

The first level - and by far the most important - is that level on which Asaph gained his understanding. On this level the child of God sees by the Word of God that all of mankind is under the judgment of God, and that the real terror of that judgment is the blindness and the stupidity of the natural man in the present age. Cut off from the light of the Word of God and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, the natural man cannot see or evaluate or control himself as a healthy being created in the image of God. He does not know what has real value and what is simply the passing baubles of this world. He gives himself to lusts which cannot bring real joy or satisfaction but which burn in him as a kind of captivating torment. He gives himself to greed for things which cannot satisfy but which enslave him and burden him down and swallow up the years of his life. He seeks peace, but he has no real peace in himself nor does he have real peace with his fellow man. He is, in fact, enslaved to sin which pulls him down further and further into a pit from which there is no escape and in which there is no light.

The second level where we observe the judgments of God in the present age is the actual physical intervention of God in the world. God is sovereign and He is Lord and author over all of creation and every occurrence within creation no matter how great or small. The world is not upheld by natural laws but by the Lord, and events do not occur by some mechanism of random chance but by the order of the Lord. Neither do the agents of evil control the events of history. Many Christians do not wish to see this because it offends their concept of God, but to see anything else is to challenge the clear and consistent teaching of Scripture, and it is also to rob God of His sovereignty. No earthquake, or plague, or flood, or war, or disease, or anything else happens except by the order of God. All of nature and its agents, whether good or evil, small or great, serve the sovereign Lord God. The risen Christ, seated at right hand of Majesty, rules over all creation, and directs all for the ultimate benefit of His kingdom and the glory of His Father.

What must be said very clearly though is that any who try to interpret particular judgments of God on a local basis had better take care, because it is rare indeed that God enlightens one of His children concerning his purposes in the sense of immediate cause and effect. In other words, just because there is an earthquake in a certain place, or a flood or a plague in a certain time and place does not mean that I can attach cause and blame to that event. Many imagine that they can discern God's purposes in His judgments on a local level - 'this town was judged because it did that', or 'this person what judged for that action'. However, Jesus warned men to take thought for their own accountability before God rather than trying to discern the guilt of others in natural calamities(Luke 13:1-5). There would not be earthquakes and plagues and famines if mankind were not under judgment, but the particular purposes of God in his specific judgments are rarely revealed to His people. Woe to him who presumes to assign to God purposes and ends which He never intended, and woe to him who does not himself repent and come into right relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Another thing that must be said about the judgments of God in space and time is that God's people often suffer in these judgments along with the ungodly. Indeed, it is often the case that "judgment begins in the house of the Lord" (1Peter 4:17). The purpose of God in subjecting His own people to judgment is to refine and perfect them through tribulations, or to call back a people who have wandered from the path of discipleship. God never pours out His wrath on His children, but that does not mean they do not suffer. On the other hand, the purpose of God in His judgments on the ungodly in the present age is destroy that which seeks to destroy God's order. Very often these two purposes of God - refinement of His people through tribulation and destruction of His enemies - are seen side by side. We will examine several of these instances below.

The Bible has given us many examples of particular judgments in time and space and it is very instructive to examine these with respect to the blindness and stupidity of non-believers and with respect to the submission of God's people to the "furnace of affliction" for their refinement. Often the external realities are the same for both the believer and the non-believer - at least in the early stages of judgment - but the manner of God's dealing with each group is entirely different. The ungodly experience the wrath of God and they respond with anger and hatred of God, while believers are comforted and upheld by God and though suffering much they draw closer to God through their trials and are separated from the sin which enslaves others. The following judgments in space and time are just a few of those which are revealed to us in Scripture:

• the flood - the destruction of all life on earth except for Noah and those with him
• the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah -
• the Exodus and the judgment on Egypt
• the exile of Israel to Babylon
• the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70

Antediluvian civilization had become so corrupt and so wicked that:

The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." Genesis 6:5-7

God determined to destroy all life on the earth with a flood but He would preserve representatives for each species to repopulate the earth and he would preserve Noah and His immediate family. In the New Testament Noah is called a "preacher of righteousness" (2Peter 2:5 NASB) and he is said to have "condemned the world" by his faith and his "reverent fear" of God (Hebrews 11:7). Noah is a very clear example of how the judgments of God in space and time relate to the godly man as opposed to the ungodly. To say that Noah did not suffer because of the flood would be quite unjustified. Without question the terror and the horror of the flood, and the sheer physical hardship of its effects would have marked Noah for all of his days. Noah, however, was given eyes to see the purposes of God, and an ear to hear the Word of God. Noah knew the favour of God, and had reason to trust in the ultimate kindness and mercy of God toward him and his family. He was comforted in his relationship with God and he was preserved because of God's care for him.

All other human beings on the earth at that time were blind and stupid. Jesus describes these people as follows:

For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Matthew 24:38-39

When we read this passage we should pause to consider the sheer terror of what is being said. The men and women and children of Noah's time were about to be destroyed in the most terrible destruction ever to be visited on the earth. They were about to be utterly annihilated - destroyed from the face of the earth. From the natural disasters of history we can only imagine the terror and the horror and the suffering experienced by every last member of this generation as they were 'swept into hell'. But surely the greatest tragedy of this generation was that they went about their daily affairs with nary a care for God or their accountability to Him while He planned their destruction. They valued what was of no value. They had no fear of God. They gave themselves to that which enslaved them and they scoffed at that which could have saved them. Like dumb animals they went about their lives in complete denial of God while the day of their destruction drew ever closer. Noah preached righteousness to them, but they cared only for the mundane affairs of this life, and for their own pleasures. Life seemed so normal and predictable right up to the moment when the first drop of rain fell.

Noah must have greatly feared what was coming on the earth. He must have been filled with foreboding for his entire generation. But Noah had eyes to see what was coming and to understand why. Even if Noah were killed by the flood his position was entirely different because He was given light to see God's hand and to understand God's purposes, and he was given faith in hope in God's mercy. This is the key difference in the people of God and the non-believer. The people of Noah's generation were children of darkness who marched to their doom in utter blindness and stupidity. Indeed, they lived their lives this way - slaves of sin. They 'spent their money on that which is not bread and their labour on that which did not satisfy' (Isaiah 55:2). Though Noah preached to them and tried to warn them, their blindness and their stupidity was simply magnified by his words.

Here is a common factor in the judgment of the ungodly, and it is revealed again and again in the Scriptures. The very same Word of God which saves the elect of God condemns the ungodly. The same Word which brings light and deliverance to the chosen of God, brings final condemnation to the reprobate. This is why Isaiah's mission was described with the following words:

And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Isaiah 6:9-10

When Noah warned of the flood, people no doubt scoffed at this man to dared to differ from the people of his generation. Certainly they did not attend to him or heed his warning. How could he be right when no one else was teaching this? Who did he think he was? In their folly they trusted their own reason above the Word of God and In their folly they were slain. When Pharaoh heard the Word of God from Moses his heart was hardened and he became utterly foolish in his rebellion against almighty God. In his folly he was slain. When Lot's relatives heard the Word of God regarding the imminent destruction of Sodom they mocked him. In their folly they were slain. When Isaiah warned the people of God about the coming judgment if they did not repent, they resisted him. in fact, legend tells that this prophet, like so many other prophets of Israel, was murdered for speaking the Word of God to them. In their folly they also were slain.

When the Jesus Christ appeared in Israel - "the word became flesh" - a company of believers heard His word and they were saved. They were given ears to hear the Word of God and eyes to see the kingdom of God and by faith they became children of God and heirs to eternal riches. The same word which was to them a "fragrance of life", however, was to the religious leaders and to many in the nation a "fragrance of death" (2Corinthians 2:16). Even in their sufferings the disciples knew tremendous joy and hope and they were comforted by the love of God. The rest, though, were hardened by the very same words so that they murdered the only One who could have helped them, and thereby judged themselves as worthy only of hell. Just a few decades later their entire society was judged and destroyed in the horrific destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

God's judgments in space and time are open and observable. Even a casual reading of history will reveal how prominent these judgments are in the life of mankind. As we understand the Revelation of the Apostle John, these judgments will greatly increase as the age moves towards its final consummation and the return of Christ. What is important to see in these judgments is the very different purposes of God for the elect and for the reprobate and therefore the very different response of each group. Many claim that Christians will not suffer in these judgments but neither Scripture nor history support that claim. Indeed, Christians often suffer first through persecutions of various kinds. But for the Christian there is hope, and confidence and even joy in the midst of these trials. For the non-believer there is only horror and fear and hatred and loss - and in the end, eternal suffering. What leads the child of God closer to his or her heavenly Father, drives the ungodly closer to his or her final imprisonment.

A time for mercy - "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts."

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; Isaiah 61:1-2

God is merciful and gentle and compassionate, and God is also just and holy and terrible in His wrath against all that is opposed to HIm and all that is evil. In the passage of Scripture quoted above, we learn that the Messiah would proclaim BOTH "the year of the LORD's favor" AND "the day of vengeance of our God". And that is exactly what the Lord Christ did. He showed forth the mercy and the forgiveness of God to all who received Him, and He established His Church to continue to extend that hand of mercy down through the ages. With astonishing kindness and patience God has given to the world a "year of God's favour" that has lasted now for 2,000 years. The invitation has been extended to all - whoever and wherever they may be - to come to Christ and receive the mercy of God. Through faith in Christ, those who hear may turn and be healed. Moreover, these ones will demonstrate the salvation of God by turning away from the pleasures of this world to seek the kingdom of God. They will set themselves to promote the interests of the Lord Jesus Christ instead of their own interests. They will be faithful witnesses to the Gospel and they will show forth their love of God by obeying the Word of God from the heart, and not from some grudging religious duty.

Now is the time of mercy! This is the time - and it has been a long, long, time - of God's patience and God's hand extended to a lost humanity. God has provided a way of deliverance for all who wish to escape from the day of wrath, and that deliverance is in Christ Jesus. What I was not able to do, Christ Jesus has done for me. I need only believe and obey the Gospel. If I spurn this kindness, if I treat the patience of God with contempt, then there is nothing left for me but the wrath of God - and that wrath, when it finally comes, will be justice without mercy. Now is the time of mercy - then mercy will be past. How many times and in how many ways did the Lord Christ warn men and women not to miss this offer of God's mercy? For hundreds upon hundreds of years, as men have piled up evil upon evil and sin upon sin, God has patiently held back His judgment. But the day will come - perhaps it will come very soon - when the door will finally be closed. Mercy will be no more. There will be justice without mercy for those who scorned God's mercy.

If anyone will not receive the testimony of Scripture, then what can be done for him? He has hardened himself against the testimony of God's love. He has hardened his heart against mercy and kindness. He has fled from the light because he loves darkness . He has chosen evil because he hates righteousness. Unless he should repent and turn and attend to the Word of God, nothing can be done for him. He is without hope.

Judgment is certain and the cup of God's wrath will be terrible beyond all measure. The Lord Jesus Christ cried out for mercy when he looked upon the horror of that cup, but mercy was denied Him. Because he was denied mercy, there is mercy for me. Does the Word of God speak to you non-believer? Does the testimony of God's mercy reach your ears at this time? Then flee to Christ whose love is more precious than life itself. Do not close your ears to the voice of God's mercy. You may never hear it again. The Scriptures call out to all who can hear:

... "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." Hebrews 4:7

Whoever hears God's voice should turn and call upon the name of the Lord. He should give himself no rest until he has settled the matter with God. She should not be distracted until she has made peace with the Saviour who is willing to bear her guilt and deliver her from judgment. It matters not what you have done, nor how unworthy you feel, nor whether you have gone to Church all your life, nor anything else. What matters is that you should embrace the Gospel of salvation, and that you are embraced by God's mercy which is found in Christ Jesus. This is the Gospel. in the next section we describe that Gospel in detail - 'What is it?', 'How does it work?', 'How can I be saved?', 'How will it change my life?'.